By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL

Dozens of journalists and human-rights activists staged a demonstration in Istanbul on Wednesday to protest the killing of a Palestinian journalist by the Israeli army in Gaza.

Yasser Mortaja, 30, was shot in the abdomen by Israeli troops on Friday while covering the "Great March of Return". He succumbed to his wounds on Saturday.

Gathering at the front of the well-known Galatasaray High School in Taksim district, human-rights activists together with journalists displayed photos of Mortaja and banners, reading “You can’t kill the truth” in four languages; Turkish, English, Arabic and Hebrew.

Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, Tayfun Demir, media adviser of Istanbul-based Human Rights and Justice Movement (IHAK) said: “We don’t want even one more person be killed any more as they do not pose any threat to anyone.”

“We are once again screaming that all the murderers -- who seized people’s right to live; such as Yasser and other journalists all over the world -- be punished,” Demir said.

All the journalists put their cameras on the ground for a while to protest the killing.

“We, as journalists always chased the truth and will continue reporting the truth clearly. You may want to kill us as well. You may kill us but you should know that you will never be able to kill the truth,” he added.

IHAK Board Director Cihat Ozdemir also condemned Israel’s actions saying that it targeted civilians, journalists, children, women and elders indiscriminately.

“We need to raise our voice in order to prevent new killings,” Ozdemir noted.  

'Hiding the truth'

Ali Oner, a director of another human-rights organization Mazlum-Der, also condemned the killing of Mortaja and all other civilians.

Describing Israel a “terrorist state,” Oner said that Israel was trying to maintain its presence by “hiding the truth.”

“Israel is an enemy of journalists, who resist injustice and lawlessness. It murdered Yasser due to this hostility,” said Kenan Alpay, a board member of Istanbul-based NGO.

“If we don’t say ‘stop,’ this [killing] is not the first one and will not unfortunately be the last one,” Hayrunisa Cicek, a freelance journalist who attended the demonstration together with her two-year-old son, told Anadolu Agency.

“We need to raise our voice,” Cicek added.

At least 31 Palestinians have been martyred by Israeli forces since March 30, when the peaceful demonstrations began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The rallies are part of a six-week demonstration that will culminate on May 15, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment -- an event Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe".

Demonstrators demand that Palestinian refugees be granted the “right of return” to their towns and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.